Editing Michael Gambon (section)

=== 1995–2003: Broadway debut and film roles ===
There were also appearances in [[Harold Pinter]]'s ''[[Old Times]]'' at the [[Haymarket Theatre]] and [[Ben Jonson]]'s ''[[Volpone]]'' and the brutal sergeant in Pinter's ''[[Mountain Language]]''. In 1995, Gambon starred in [[David Hare (dramatist)|David Hare]]'s ''[[Skylight (play)|Skylight]]'', with [[Lia Williams]], which opened to rave reviews at the National Theatre. The play transferred first to [[Wyndham's Theatre]] and then on to [[Broadway (theatre)|Broadway]] at the [[Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre]] for a four-month run which left him in a state of advanced exhaustion.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://playbill.com/production/skylight-royale-theatre-vault-0000010192|title= Skylight (Broadway, 1996)|website= Playbill|accessdate= November 2, 2023}}</ref> "''Skylight'' was ten times as hard to play as anything I've ever done" he told Michael Owen in the ''[[Evening Standard]]''. "I had a great time in New York, but wanted to return." ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' wrote of his performance, "Gambon, an Irishman revered on the London stage, gives his rough-hewn character a grace that goes beyond the physical".<ref>{{cite web|url= https://variety.com/1996/legit/reviews/skylight-1200446753/|title= Skylight|website= Variety|date= 20 September 1996|accessdate= November 2, 2023}}</ref> For this performance Gambon received his only [[Tony Award]] nomination for [[Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play|Best Actor in a Play]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://playbill.com/person/michael-gambon-vault-0000093415|title= Michael Gambon|website= Playbill|accessdate= November 2, 2023}}</ref>

He later starred as [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]] in the Hungarian director [[Károly Makk]]'s film ''[[The Gambler (1997 film)|The Gambler]]'' (1997) about the writing of Dostoyevsky's novella ''[[The Gambler (novella)|The Gambler]]''. In the 1990s he appeared in films such as, [[Barry Levinson]]'s fantasy comedy ''[[Toys (film)|Toys]]'' (1992), the period drama ''[[Dancing at Lughnasa]]'' (1998), the action film ''[[Plunkett & Macleane]]'' (1998), [[Michael Mann]]'s political drama ''[[The Insider (film)|The Insider]]'' (1999) and [[Tim Burton]]'s gothic horror film ''[[Sleepy Hollow (film)|Sleepy Hollow]]'' (1999). He also appeared in the BBC serial ''[[Wives and Daughters (1999 TV series)|Wives and Daughters]]'' (1999) based on the [[Wives and Daughters|Victorian novel by the same name]] by [[Elizabeth Gaskell]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/michael-gambon-obituary-singing-detective-maigret-harry-potter-star|title= Michael Gambon obituary: The Singing Detective, Maigret and Harry Potter star|date= 29 September 2023|publisher= British Film Institute|accessdate= November 2, 2023}}</ref> He portrayed Squire Hamley and received his second [[BAFTA Award]] nomination and win for Best Actor.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://awards.bafta.org/keyword-search?keywords=Wives+and+daughters | title = BAFTA Award Database | accessdate = 2013-09-10}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' described Gambon's performance as 'Gruff on the outside, with a huge sentimental streak, the country squire is a familiar type, but he makes him seem endearing and fresh.'<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/30/movies/tv-weekend-a-strawberry-and-cream-past-spiced-with-romance.html|title=TV WEEKEND; A Strawberry-and-Cream Past, Spiced With Romance|first=Caryn|last=James|date=March 30, 2001|accessdate=November 17, 2023|magazine=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

During the 2000s, Gambon appeared in several films including [[Robert Altman]]'s murder mystery ensemble ''[[Gosford Park]]'' (2001) where he acted alongside [[Maggie Smith]], [[Helen Mirren]], [[Kristin Scott Thomas]], [[Kelly Macdonald]], [[Emily Watson]] and [[Stephen Fry]]. Gambon portrays Sir William McCordle, the imperious master of Gosford Park who has invited distinguished company for a weekend shooting party before a murder throws everything into chaos. ''[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]]'' declared the film, "Altman's best movie in years - an astute exploration of British culture that can stand proudly with his satires of American life. Atmospheric, absorbing, amusing and really fun."<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/gosford-park-review/|title= Gosford Park review|website= Empire|date= January 2000|accessdate= November 2, 2023}}</ref> The film earned the [[BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film]] as well as nominations for six [[Academy Award]] including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]. In 2003, he appeared with [[Robert Duvall]] and [[Kevin Costner]], playing the principal villain in the Western film ''[[Open Range (2003 film)|Open Range]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/449572/open-range/#overview|title= Open Range|website= TCM|accessdate= November 2, 2023}}</ref> Gambon was not among the actors to grace [[Yasmina Reza]]'s ''[['Art']]'' at Wyndham's. But together with [[Simon Russell Beale]] and [[Alan Bates]], he gave a droll radio account of the role of Marc. And for the RSC he shared Reza's two-hander ''[[The Unexpected Man]]'' with [[Eileen Atkins]], first at The Pit in the Barbican and then at the [[Duchess Theatre]], a production also intended for New York, but finally delayed by other commitments.

In 2001, he played what he described as "'a physically repulsive" Davies in [[Patrick Marber]]'s revival of Pinter's ''[[The Caretaker (play)|The Caretaker]]'',<ref name="BBC News-2023" /> but he found the rehearsal period an unhappy experience, and felt that he had let down the author.{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} A year later, playing opposite [[Daniel Craig]], he portrayed the father of a series of cloned sons in [[Caryl Churchill]]'s ''[[A Number]]'' at the [[Royal Court Theatre|Royal Court]], remembered for a recumbent moment when he smoked a cigarette, the brightly lit spiral of smoke rising against a black backdrop, an effect which he dreamt up during rehearsals. Gambon starred in a made-for-TV adaptation of [[Samuel Beckett]]'s ''[[Endgame (play)|Endgame]]'' (2001) and ''[[Perfect Strangers (UK TV serial)|Perfect Strangers]]'' (2001) which together revealed his talent for comedy. Gambon played President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] in the television film ''[[Path to War]]''. About his performance ''[[The Washington Post]]'' said: "Gambon is entirely up to the task of making a larger-than-life icon seem painfully – and in the end, helplessly – human. It is a performance of fire and brimstone".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2002/05/18/hbos-powerful-path-to-war-the-drama-that-was-lbj/b5377349-f101-4365-97c1-ee2f2db0cc4a/|title=HBO's Powerful 'Path to War': The Drama That Was LBJ|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=18 May 2002}}</ref> He was nominated for an [[Emmy Award]] for Best Actor in a Mini-series or Movie and a [[Golden Globe Award]] for Best Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television.